本書簡介：《沉思錄》是古羅馬皇帝奧勒留寫給自己的書，內容大部分是他在鞍馬勞頓中寫成的。作品來自奧勒留對身羈宮廷的自己和自己所處混亂世界的感受，追求一種冷靜而達觀的生活。這部著作是斯多葛學派的一個里程碑，亦是溫總理放在枕邊，讀了不下百遍的書。本書原文由古希臘文而作，英文版選擇比較權威的George Long的版本，中文版選擇何懷宏的版本作參考。筆記中的英文釋義摘自《牛津高階英漢雙解詞典》 作者簡介：馬可•奧勒留，著名的“帝王哲學家”，古羅馬帝國皇帝，在希臘文學和拉丁文學、修辭、哲學、法律、繪畫方面受過很好的教育，晚期斯多葛學派代表人物之一。奧勒留也許是西方歷史上唯一的一位哲學家皇帝。他是一個比他的帝國更加完美的人，他的勤奮工作最終并沒有能夠挽救古羅馬，但是他的《沉思錄》卻成為西方歷史上的偉大名著。

卷五045.7 What kind of things those are which appear good to the many, we may learn even from this. For if any man should conceive certain things as being really good, such as prudence, temperance, justice, fortitude, he would not after having first conceived these endure to listen to anything which should not be in harmony with what is really good. But if a man has first conceived as good the things which appear to the many to be good, he will listen and readily receive as very applicable that which was said by the comic writer. Thus even the many perceive the difference. For were it not so, this saying would not offend and would not be rejected in the first case, while we receive it when it is said of wealth, and of the means which further luxury and fame, as said fitly and wittily. Go on then and ask if we should value and think those things to be good, to which after their first conception in the mind the words of the comic writer might be aptly applied- that he who has them, through pure abundance has not a place to ease himself in.

 Notes： [adj] sensible and careful when you make judgements and decisions; avoiding unnecessary risks

5.8 I am composed of the formal and the material; and neither of them will perish into non-existence, as neither of them came into existence out of non-existence. Every part of me then will be reduced by change into some part of the universe, and that again will change into another part of the universe, and so on for ever. And by consequence of such a change I too exist, and those who begot me, and so on for ever in the other direction. For nothing hinders us from saying so, even if the universe is administered according to definite periods of revolution.

 先嘗試自己翻譯一下吧，參考譯文見下：

中文翻譯：5.7 我們甚至可以從這個問題學習－即那些在許多人看來是好的事物是一種什么樣的事物呢？因為，如果有人把諸如明智、節制、正義、堅定這樣一些事情視做真正好的，他在首先抱有這種認識之后就將不耐煩聽任何與真正好的東西相抵牾的事情。但如果一個人首先把那多數人認為好的東西理解為好的，那么他就可能把喜劇作家所說的東西作為真正適合的東西來傾聽并欣然接受。這樣，甚至多數人也覺出這差別。因為如果不是這樣，當我們聽到有關財富、有關促進奢侈和名聲的手段的巧妙和機智的說法時，就不會覺得刺耳也不會從一開始就加以拒絕了。那么，接著問問我們自己，你是否重視這些事物，是否認為它們是好的？是否在心里抱有對它們的既定看法之后喜劇作家的話還可以恰當地應用于它們－那占有它們的人，由于純粹的富足卻沒有辦法使自己得到安寧。

5.8 我是由形式和質料組成的，它們都不會消逝為非存在，正像它們都不可能由非存在變為存在一樣。那么我的每一部分就都將被變化帶回到宇宙的某一部分，并將再變為宇宙的另一部分，如此永遠生生不息。我也是通過這樣一種變化的結果而存在，那些生我的人也是，如此可以按另一方向永遠追溯下去。因為沒有什么使我不這樣說，即使宇宙是根據無數變革的時代所管理的。

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